The Puppet's Puppet
by yugkemoniony1X
Summary: "Oh...how...interesting..." It was strange 'feel' after so long. He had only time to briefly ponder the sensation before voices, quiet but steadily getting louder, reached his ears. A grin worked itself onto his face. Time to test out his new 'capabilities'. (No pairings)
1. Prologue

**Mental Log #1**

 _Darkness..._

 _It's all I've ever known...at least, I think so._

 _I woke up to nothing but darkness._

 _It's strange. I feel like I've been here for forever, yet I don't. The darkness is alien, yet familiar._

 _Maybe it is all I've ever known._

 _Who knows?_

 _Not me._

 **Mental Log #10**

 _Darkness..._

 _More darkness..._

 _And even more darkness..._

 _I seem to have no sense of time. Nothing ever changes, because nothing ever existed in the first place._

 _I have no name._

 _I don't think I do, anyway._

 _I can't remember anything._

 _My mind is unchanging, eternal._

 _Like this place, where nothing ever changes._

 **Mental Log #200...?**

 _Strange..._

 _I feel myself losing all sense._

 _Maybe it's because of the consistent landscape?_

 _Maybe it's because of the lack of...of..._

 _I lost the word._

 _It started with an 'E'._

 _..._

 _...or did it?_

 _My mind is breaking...I can feel it...?_

 _The weird sensation of physicality is..._

 _Pleasant._

 **Mental log ?**

 _I ponder on the emotion._

 _I wonder of my future._

 _I think of the place that I now have called 'home'..._

 _..._

 _It hits me._

 _Like...like..._

 _..._

 _I realize who I am -_ what _I am..._

 _The darkness is - isn't just my only companion in this large, dense abyss._

 _I-_

I-

 _ **I am the darkness.**_


	2. Chapter 1

"Oooiiiii~, how much longer are we gonna be walking in this mundane place? Oi! I'm talking you, Kurosaki!"

Shun wasn't sure how much longer he could take it.

Sawatari's constant whining, which has continuously going on for the last two hours, had Shun wishing he could card him already. _Thanks, Akaba._

He quietly contemplated on the choice of knocking him out for the sake of silence.

"Oi!"

No. Then he would be pain to lug about. Maybe, just maybe, he could tune out the duelist, then -

"Kurosaki!"

...Never mind. Initiating knock-out sequence, now.

Just as Shun was about to was to swiftly "give Sawatari what he deserved", Gongenzaka, who he had forgotten was with them as well, placed a large hand on his shoulder and met his eyes. He shook his head.

'It's not worth it,' The large man seemed to silently tell him, as if he had anticipated Kurosaki's actions. Shun made an annoyed sigh, turning away from the duelist.

To keep his mind off of his group member behind him, he tried focusing on other things, but the hallway they traveled was gray and, as Shingo had described it earlier, mundane.

He sighed once more.

God, he wished something interesting would happen already, so Sawatari would shut. up.

...

...

"Kuro-" BOOM

The explosion reverberated along the metallic hallway. The sound caused the floor beneath them to quake in such a way that it was nearly impossible to stand.

As the echos died away, Gongenzaka and Shun stood up slowly.

"What was that?" Shun asked shakily.

"I don't know. Perhaps someone is dueling?" Gongenzaka replied.

Before the RaidRaptors duelist could answer, a piercing yell reached his and the large fighter's ears. A loud thump followed.

The scream was all too familiar.

"Yuya!" Gongenzaka yelled, racing down the seemingly never-ending corridor.

Shun pondered on following him briefly.

"Oof. What happened," a voice said behind him. "Kuros - Hey! Come back here!"

Kurosaki sped off as fast as he could, closely following suit.

#####################################################################################

After much running the pair encountered a large strange room. There were tables, which were all knocked over, that Shun was sure were once covered in a multitude of things, as all of the items nearly coated the entire floor. The center of the room was a mess, as well. The walls and ceiling were dented and scorched in some places.

' _Definitely a duel_ ,' he thought, glancing over at the tomato-haired duelist, who lay un-moving on the floor.

Gongenzaka ran over to Yuya and cradled him in his arms. Shun swiftly walked over and crouched near the Sakaki's head. "Is he alright?"

"Ah," Gongenzaka nodded. "unconscious, but otherwise okay. What happened here?"

"A duel, for sure, but...where did his opponent go?" Shun questioned, staring at the 'WIN' icon flashing on Yuya's duel disk.

"That is a good question...ah, but we have to get Yuya out of here first before we encounter the Obelisk Force-" Gongenzaka's words were cut short as a groan erupted from the body on his lap.

The large duelist looked down at the boy. "Yuya!"

Yuya's face scrunched up, but loosened as his eyes fluttered open. His ruby eyes (which glowed for a moment?) met Gongenzaka's. They were full of confusion.

"Y-Yuya?"

"...Gong...gen...zaka...?" The tomato-haired duelist asked hoarsely, blinking up at said person.

The duelist nodded.

"...Gongenzaka!" Yuya shouted, almost jumping up in answer. He flinched horribly, clutching head.

"Sakaki, are you okay?" Shun asked, placing a hand on Yuya's shoulder.

The Dueltainer turned around to face Shun, blinking.

There was silence as Yuya stared at the RaidRaptors duelist. Gongenzaka broke the silence by clearing his throat loudly. "Don't you remember Kurosaki Shun, Yuya?"

"Y-Yes! I'm sorry Kurosaki! It must of slipped my mind briefly. I apologize." Yuya said quickly.

Shun sighed. "It's alright. Whatever happened must have done a number on you. By the way, who were you fighting to cause this much destruction?"

Yuya looked uncomfortable. "Uhh...I can't remember much...ah! I think it was Yuri!"

"Yuri?" Gongenzaka asked. Shun just narrowed his eyes but said nothing.

"Yeah. He's another guy who looks like me. He's from the fusion dimension." Answered Yuya.

Shun grasped the boy's shoulder, making him look into his eyes. "Sakaki...i-is he...?" Shun did not want to jump to conclusions, but another person that looks just like Yuya, Yuto, and, quite possibly, the Pawn of Fusion? He didn't know what to think.

Yuya, catching the duelist's concern, nodded his head. "Yes, Kurosaki. He's the one who kidnapped Ruri and Rin."

Kurosaki squeezed the tomato-haired dueltainer's shoulder. "Where is he!? I'll kill him!" He said in a harsh whisper.

Yuya just shook his head. "I...dunno. All I remember is me and him battling with Odd-Eyes and, I think it was, Starve Venom Fusion Dragon. Next thing I know, Gongenzaka and you show up."

Shun inhaled sharply, before exhaling slowly, letting his anger bleed away. He removed his hand from the boy's shoulder. "Anyway," he said glancing off to the side. "we should get out of here. I don't want to encounter anymore Obelisks, and you can't duel in that condition, Sakaki."

"What are you talking about? O-Of course I ca-Ugh!" Yuya, once again, clutched his head. Gongenzaka balanced the boy, responding with, "You need to rest a while. You must of hit your head pretty hard."

"B-But - " The dueltainer's words were cut short by a glare from both of the older men. "Fine. I'm walking, though."

Shun, not feeling like fighting him, just lazily agreed. There was a nagging feeling that hung around, like he had forgotten something. It was only then that their third party member decided too make himself known. Bent over, breathing hard, he yelled,

"H-Hey! You - You forgot me!"

Ah, that's what he forgot.

#####################################################################################

 **Hmm...the leader, the protector, and the annoying one...**

 **An unusual combo, but interesting, nonetheless.**

 **I can only guess that there are others, hopefully. These ones will bore me soon enough...**

 **Oh well...**

 **Whatever...**

 **Might as well make the most of it while they last, anyway.**

################################################################################


	3. Chapter 2

Two hours.

TWO. FREAKING. HOURS.

That is how long they have been walking and choosing blindly. They meaning him, Tsukikage, and the green-haired girl who looked like Yuzu. And by 'choosing blindly' he meant THIS PLACE IS A FREAKING MAZE.

Sora had never been down in the 'basement' of Academia. (He had never been allowed down here.) Only scientists had ever been permitted in the 'basement' by the Professor. Why? He didn't question it back when he still worked for Academia but now he did, and man was it creepy down here.

Sora sighed exhaustedly as they met with yet another split path. He looked over at Tsukikage, who's tiredness was not visibly shown but could still be felt, and the green-haired girl, which he had yet to remember the name of. She was weary, he could tell, but tried not to show it. She was practically wobbling as she kept a determined expression. Sora sighed again.

"We can rest here for a while," came a muffled voice from Sora's left. He heard the green-haired girl's exhalation of relief as she slid down the wall, landing on the metallic floor was a soft thunk.

Tsukikage leaned against the gray wall while Sora himself dropped to the floor, cross-legged. The Death-Toy duelist stretched back, staring at the ceiling. Though it had yet to be even five minutes after the announcement of break, he was already bored. (He had run out of lollipops awhile back.)

Finding nothing else to do, he reflected on why they were in this strange predicament.

Well, after locating Yuya, Gongenzaka, Kurosaki, and Shingo in the Xyz dimension, Akaba Reiji was able to bring them back to the Synchro dimension. Yuya and them had not found Yuzu, but had befriended some the survivors of the War and learned more about Academia. They had also discovered something called 'The ARC Project', which let to Heartland being destroyed. After hearing all of this everyone naturally turned to him, a former Academian Solider.

Sora didn't know much about the Project or why Heartland was destroyed, but he knew this: the Professor needed human souls. As for why, he did not know, but it was very important in his plan to unite all of the dimensions.

Following Sora's knowledge being told to the rest of the Lancers, Reiji abruptly decided that they needed to take action, now. There were some complaints on the sudden decision, but eventually everyone agreed that the time to invade Academia had come. They needed to act fast, or there would be even more causalities than there already were.

Their surprisingly dramatic entrance into Academia was...surprisingly easy. Maybe it was because everyone had grown since their last encounter with any members of the Fusion dimension. Or perhaps it was because of Pendulum summoning. Sora did not know what it was, but takedown of the upper part of Academia was a piece of cake.

They had defeated almost everyone there, but they could not find a single clue on the whereabouts of Yuzu, Selena, Ruri, and...Rin!

Sora inwardly cheered for remembering the green-haired girl's name before returning to his memories.

Yuya had disappeared during the invasion, and Yuzu and her counterparts were no where to be found. They had checked everywhere, and even searched the grounds for soul cards, preparing for the worst. They had found nothing, that is until they witnessed a man draped in a white lab coat frantically attempting to open something. Kurosaki had been the first to react, grabbing the worker by his collar. Kurosaki bombarded the man with questions on 'where in hell did he think he was going?' The scientist had been stubborn at first to reveal anything. Of course all it took was one glare from the Raidraptors duelist for the man to agree to Shun's wishes.

The worker opened the secret door to some stairs before sprinting from his spot in front of the entrance, screaming for the Professor to forgive him. Ignoring the scientist, Shun immediately took off down the stairs.

At the end of the staircase was a room that branched off in three different ways. There were no signs that told them which way was which, causing them to split up in three different groups: Himself and Tsukikage, Shun, Gongenzaka, and, much to Kurosaki's displeasure, Shingo, and Reiji and Reira.

Sora and the masked ninja had sped off at unbelievable speeds at the the signal to 'go', and had kept at it until the hallway forked. Both of them were contemplating on which way to go when Rin had showed up to their right, running away from the Obelisk force.

Naturally, they jumped in front of the soldiers, demanding that they stand down and leave Rin - who Sora had accidentally pegged as Yuzu - alone. The Obelisks refused - typical - and recognized Sora, calling him 'a traitor of Academia'. The three Academians were defeated swiftly. The pair turned to the green-haired girl to ask how she escaped.

Before answering them, she denied she was Yuzu and said her name was, "Rin". She told them she had figured out a way to disassemble the lock. Unfortunately, as she opened the door, an alarm went off and she found herself being chased by the Force.

It was only after thanking the two ninjas for helping her, that she noticed Sora's Academia uniform. She was nervous, but also confused on why a Fusion soldier would be helping her. Tsukikage explained their situation, and asked if she would like to accompany them on their search for her counterparts and their friend.

Now here they were, unable to make contact with anyone and still in this god forsaken place with no idea if they were getting farther away or closer to their destination. Whatever it was.

"Alright, let's go."

His eyes shot open, Tsukikage's words startling him from his daydreaming.

Sora stood and helped the Synchro girl up. She nodded defiantly at Sora's unspoken question. Rin looked well rested and able to keep moving forward, contrary to her previous condition. He nodded back. Sora looked to Tsukikage and again repeated the motion.

They chose right.


	4. Chapter 3

The clicking of keys filled the room, as it had moments before. Reiji opened a file.

Silence.

...

...The sound resumed.

Reira yawned. They had been here for a few hours. Ever since discovering the control panel, his brother had hacked into it and was trying to find something, that which he did not know. He rubbed his eyes.

"Try that one..." A girl's voice said. Reira blinked up wearily at the sudden new sound.

His eyes rested upon Xyz girl that stood next to his brother. He unconsciously yawned again.

Her dark purple ponytail swayed as she turned to the small boy, winged clip and crystal earrings jingling. She gave him a small, friendly smile before turning back to the screen, stone-faced and stern.

Ruri-nee chan...

She had saved him earlier from some Obelisk Force. While walking down the hallway that led them here, Reira and his brother had encountered a small group. Reiji and them had begun to duel, and Reira, nervous, had backed off a bit from his brother only to discover they were surrounded.

Reira had been prepared to battle them with his brother when a figure jumped over the force in front of him and knocked them all out faster than he could blink. The figure turned and walked towards him. Reira began to panic.

'Were they going to hurt him too!?' He started to hyperventilate and squeezed his eyes shut. 'Nii-san! Where are you?'

His panic disappeared, however, when the girl placed her hands on his shoulders. "It's going to be alright. Calm down." Her voice was sweet and had a calming essence to it that made his anxiety drift away. He looked up.

His first thought was that she was the pink-haired girl that they were looking for, but he knew better as he continued to study her. The girl's hair was a dark purple with lavender highlights. Her eyes were the same color. Her large gem earrings (that now that he looked at them resembled Yuuya-niichan's pendulum) swayed as she glanced up at his brother.

After much convincing, she agreed to give them her name, Ruri, but was still cautious of Reiji.

"Your name...," Reiji had asked. "You wouldn't happened to be related to a Kurosaki Shun?"

She reacted, just like his brother had probably planned. "You-You know my brother?"

And that was how they had met Kurosaki Ruri.

Reiji had promised Ruri to reunite her and her brother if they helped them disrupt the Professor's plans. She hadn't been more agreeable.

"Would you like to sleep a bit?" Startled, he almost gave himself a whiplash to look at the origin of the voice. Ruri smiled. "We'll most likely be here for a few more hours."

"You might want to take back that last sentence," Reiji interrupted from the chair. "Found it."

The bracelet girl stood, peeking over the chair at the screen. Reira failed get a good look, before the Kurosaki picked him up.

It was a map.

A map of the basement area to be more precise.

"A map, Onii-san?" Reira questioned.

"Not just any map, Reira. This file lets me also access the cameras in the hallways." Reira had seen the cameras before, but they never moved. He just assumed they were broken.

"Well, there goes the question to why the Obelisk Force kept finding us." Ruri stated sarcastically. They had been stopped at least three times by soldiers after had Ruri joined their group. Realization suddenly entered her eyes. "Wait. Does that mean...!?"

"Yes. We can find the others."

Her purple eyes sparkled with happiness.

The LDS president re-positioned his glasses, and began flipping through the cameras. The first group they encountered was the ninja group, plus one more.

"She has the same face as me?" Ruri said, surprised. Her expression, though, turned to confusion when she noticed blue Academian uniform on the smallest of the group.

"Indeed. She is one of the four girls who resembles you. The boy, Shiu'nin Sora, is a traitor of Academia who has joined our forces." Reiji glanced over at the Xyz girl. "Does that bother you?"

Ruri bit her lip. "A little bit, but if Onii-san trusts him, I will too."

Reiji nodded his head, took a mental note of the group's location, then started to scour the grounds again. They finally discovered the group of four.

"Shun!" Ruri gasped as her brother's determined face appeared on the screen. 'I'm so glad he's alright.' She breathed a sigh of relief which became another gasp, this one of shock. "Yuuto!"

"No," Ruri looked at him. "That is Sakaki Yuuya. He has the same situation as yourself: He too shares his face with four others."

"Wait. If Shun is here and that's not Yuuto, then where is Yuuto?" She knew that her brother and the raven-haired duelist had always been in-separate, especially after the invasion. For them to not be in the same area as them, meant either he was with another group or...

"Yuuto, while in Standard, was attacked by a Synchro user, Yuugo, who mistook him for another. Yuuto also had mistaken Yuugo for the one who kid-napped you. They both did have the same face, after all." Reiji paused. "I know for a fact that Yuugo was the winner of the duel, but about the whereabouts of your friend..."

"Wh-what happened to him?" Her hold on Reira tightened.

"We don't know. He simply...disappeared. The only one who probably has any idea on his location..," Reiji looked back towards the screen. "...is Yuuya. He was the only one physically present to the duel and is the only one we are able to have contact with at the moment on his whereabouts. He refuses to say anything about Yuuto's location, however, so we know nothing."

"Why?"

"...That is beyond my knowledge. Perhaps it is where Yuuto is that refrains him from speaking on the subject. It is only until he wants to talk about it is when we will know, but for now, we are ignorant."

Ruri's jaw tightened. "I-I need to talk him...I have to-"

"Do not worry. We are going to meet up with them now."

"Now?" Reira squeaked from Ruri's hold.

"Yes. I can carry you if you would like, Reira."

Reira looked up at the festering Ruri, who looked so much like the Selena who was lost due to his weakness. Reira ferociously shook his head and wiggled himself out of Ruri's arms.

"Alright. We can intersect them here," he stated, pointing to a spot on the map. "We will have to been quick about it. We will lose them if we are too slow."

The other nodded their heads affirmatively.


	5. Chapter 4

Leo Akaba rapped his fingers rhythmically on the arm rest, patience gradually being lost to the god forsaken silence of the room. His still hand threatened to crush the arm of the seat he sat upon in quiet fury.

Minutes passed...

WHAM

"Dammit! Where are they!?" He yelled, the echos mocking his solitude.

He had previously given orders to the Force to find the girls and seal off any entrances to this place. Before the latter had taken place, however, rats had already sniffed their way inside. He had even sent out Yuuri, his best and most favorable soldier, to terminate them, but he had lost contact with him a few hours ago.

A small flicker of fear gripped him. Could these people really be this strong?

He shook his head, his anxiety losing its grasp. Perhaps Yuuri was preoccupied with rounding up the girls, (He had been told they were quite defiant, and this place is easily lost in ) or more people had entered the lower level then previously thought, and Yuuri was too busy defeating and carding them all that he lost track of time.

The second one was probably the least likely, but it was one of the few theories  
that kept Leo from outright panicking.

Then again, the soul cards were extremely important to his plan of uniting and controlling all four dimensions.

He stood to face the giant machine behind him. Cards fell from the top and were eaten up by the never-ending stream of viridescent light pouring out of the machine. He recited to himself:

"Destruction sleeps beneath its keys. Only when they come together to form a lock, will it awaken from its vengeful slumber..."

It would be only a matter of time before it was gone. The only thing that stood in his way. The plan was going smoothly. So close. So close...

"Its essence spreads across the worlds, but is concentrated in four. "

He closed his eyes.

"Four will be its fastening."

He breathed.

"Four will be its undoing."

"Destruction...," He whispered to himself. "The power that is most feared and cherished." It was true. He knew from personal experiences that power was what most people wanted in life, but their ignorance of how to use it was ultimately their downfall.

It was because, with power, for you to create, you needed to destroy equally. Those who had come in contact with only a pure fraction of it, had been swallowed up in their own greed. They had not given enough, to obtain enough.

But, that was not his plan. He knew that he did not deserve any of the raw energy that lay dormant beneath everything.

No, his plan was to rid the dimensions of this power, so that nothing would stand in his way. And to do that, was...

"...To destroy the things that defied it."

Vague, really. The phrase could mean to kill all things that lived, or destroy the Four that would be its undoing.

So he did what any responsible evil villain would do: He did both. Of course the former would be difficult to manage (because that he himself was a living being), but if it were that, it did not say everything. Everything meaning all dimensions. So he targeted the first dimension he knew would stand no chance: Heartland, aka the Xyz dimension.

However, the latter was a different story. It would be near to impossible to complete without the knowledge of what the Four were.

But-

A loud ringing sound Leo strayed from his daydreaming. His arm-duel disk vibrated, telling its holder to answer. He checked the caller ID.

It was Yuuri.

He inwardly smiled. His favorite soldier was finally finished with his work and was calling to ask Leo what else he could do to 'clean up the mess'.

He accepted the call.

...

But no image.

'Hmm...perhaps his duel disk's camera is broken.'

However, the voice that came through the speakers was not Yuuri's, but one that was all too familiar.

"What did you do!?" It was quiet, but harsh.

"I don't know! I accidentally pressed something!" There was a brief pause. "Oh no."

The call swiftly ended.

Leo stood there silently, staring at his own duel disk. His arm began to shake, followed by the rest of his body, as panic rushed through his veins. A strange feeling began to bubble in his chest-

Wham!

The wall cowered under his aura and force.

'Dammit! My emotions will not keep me from my goals!'

But, despite all of these drawbacks, he had one thing that kept him from completely breaking.

He knew where two of the Four were.


	6. Chapter 5

Soft footsteps echoed down the hallway as Selena and Yuzu made their way forward, the metallic walls reflecting  
their cautiousness and determination.

The dancer duelist held her head high, taking the lead in front of Yuzu, who looked more ready to get out of here than anything.

Their escape was astoundingly easy. Selena had managed to knock out one of the Obelisk Force that comes occasionally to check on them. Fist-to-face was indeed a powerful, yet old style. Though she had been confused on why only one member of the Force had shown up and even more so, the nonexistent backup, she and her Standard counterpart had run out of there as fast as possible.

Selena looked back at her partner in this lonely labyrinth. Yuzu held her hands against her chest, trying to smother the bright light and high-pitched monotone ringing hidden beneath her jumpsuit.

Before their breakout, both of their bracelets had, unlike the usual blinking and similar sound it created, begun to shine a continuous stream of light and noise. That, in fact, was what intrigued the curiosity of the Obelisk that aided in their escape. Yuzu volunteered to hold to them as they searched the grounds for an exit.

She turned back forward, remembering how startled her counterpart was when the bracelets had first begun to shine. She too had been surprised,but Yuzu's expression showed more worry than alarm.

Selena wondered briefly on whether or not she should ask, curiosity eating away at her core, but her question was overrun with the realization they had just entered a new room.

Both of them gasped. It was nice to see something other then plain hallway, but the chamber's scenery nothing they expected.

The place was a huge mess. The floor, cluttered with many small scientific materials and overturned tables, was burned and scorched. The walls too held the same battle scars, reminiscence of a recent duel.

"What in the world," Yuzu uttered beside her, fear present in her voice. Selena stepped forward, taking in the carnage.

"What could of caused all of this..." She questioned quietly aloud while carefully picking up one of the slightly charred remains of a glass bottle. She had seen the after-effects of many duels between Academia soldiers, but nothing on this scale. She glanced up at the reasonably sized dent in the wall.

'Not even when they went all out on each other!'

At this moment a sound caused her to turn around toward the Diva duelist. Yuzu was sitting on her knees holding a purple Academian duel disk, her hands brushing over the screen of the disk. She seemed to be trying use it. Selena walked over to Yuzu, who was too focused on the disk to notice.

"What are you doing?" She inquired.

Yuzu jumped, dropping it. "You scared me, Selena!"

Selena gave her a disappointed look. "Then you should be more wary of your surroundings-" A sudden sharp ringing sound cut her words, and her eyes fell on the vibrating duel disk that Yuzu had dropped. The Academian soldier tensed, pushing her counterpart away and grabbing the disk. She turned to the pink-haired girl as the disk instantly stopped ringing.

"What did you do!?" She whispered harshly.

Yuzu put up her hands in a defensive manner. "I guess I accidentally pressed something!" She looked down at the disk and went pale. Selena followed her gaze and copied her counterpart when she read the ID.

"Oh no," and she pushed down a little too hard on the end call button.

The silence was deafening as they stared at each other, petrified in moral terror of their worst mistake yet. Selena found it hard to keep her normally firm composure straight as the truth of the matter came crashing down on her. Swallowing the fear rushing through her veins, she stood up, dropping the duel disk from her hands with a clack.

"We have to leave now." It was a challenge to refrain her voice from shaking, but it surprisingly did not fluctuate. Yuzu expression held hesitation against Selena's words. "But-"

"You don't understand!" the purple-haired girl screamed at her friend, instantly regretting the action after seeing the girl flinch from her yell. "Look, the Professor now knows we're here and he'll stop at nothing to make sure we're back safely in that cell, waiting for the others, who may or may not be coming here at all! So we need to leave now." Selena fiercely stood her ground and began to walk away...

"B-but...!" Yuzu scrambled for the duel disk on the floor and frantically trying to do something with the disk once more. Selena sighed, 'What was it that she needed to do so much?' She turned around to find Yuzu holding Duel Monster cards (though most of them were scattered on the floor) and the extra deck holder open.

The archetype of the cards, however, were what peeked her interest: Predator Plants.

' _Wait, is not that the kind of deck that fusion Yuuya look-a-like used? C-Could this be his duel disk?_ ' It was indeed strange. ' _There is no way that Academia solider would have just left his disk here...unless, he was carded?! No, I do not see any cards anywhere other than the ones Yuzu just took out. What..?_ ' Selena looked at her pink-haired twin and was stunned to see her friend had grown extremely pale.

Yuzu, after many moments of staring at the cards, abruptly stood up and grabbed her counterpart's wrist, dragging her toward the doorway at the other end of the room, still clutching the Fusion duel disk.

"We need to find the others! We need to find Yuuya!" The fear present in her voice sent shivers down Selena's spine.

"Wha-?" Yuzu suddenly faced her with terrified eyes while they were still marching toward the doorway.

"Starve Venom Fusion Dragon is _gone_ "  
_

I forgot to mention this but Ruri and Rin do not have their bracelets. The Professor took them. ^^'

Sorry


	7. Chapter 6

_**Annoying...**_

"How long are we gonna be here, Kurosaki?"

Shingo was asking because one: he wanted get out of this boring place and two: he wanted to go home and brag about how he saved the entertainment duelist from certain death. (Kurosaki would argue that it was 'simply a concussion" and that "Yuuya's condition was not life threatening" but he knew better)

Oblivious to Shun and Gongenzaka's obvious irritation, he found it rude that they were ignoring him. Sawatari huffed, crossing his arms. He thought their actions were similar to the corridor they were walking down (bleak and boring) and pouted, searching the hallway for something, _anything_ , to distract him from his boredom.

His gaze fell upon the tomato-haired entertainer, who had been disregarding his existence for the past half hour. Normally he would pestering Yuuya with questions on "what happened to him" and "Who this 'Yuuri' guy was", but something was...off.

And it wasn't the good kind either.

Ever since they found him, the entertainer had been _completely silent_. Now he didn't know Yuuya all that well (His ego would beg to differ), but he knew him well enough that 'quietness' was something that was not normal for Yuuya to have, especially because of what happened to Hiragi and her look-a-likes. Sakaki would be asking about their well being and how they were going to find them, but no. He was dead silent.

 _ **Stop staring, you imbecile.**_

Sawatari shook his head and looked away from the duelist. He was thinking too much on all of this. It probably wasn't all that mysterious.

Perhaps...

Perhaps...he was too enthralled by the great Neo-New Sawatari's amazingness that Yuuya couldn't look at him!

' _Yeah! That was it!_ ' Shingo felt his pride swell within him...before it began to deflate and transform into (worrying?) curiousity. ' _But still..._ '

Sawatari closed his eyes and placed his chin between his forefinger and thumb.

' _Maybe-_ '

"Not another one..," he heard someone grumble in front of him.

"Hmm?" Shingo peered over the Kurosaki's shoulder. "More split paths!? Ugh."

 _ **?**_

He felt something nudge him slightly and saw Yuuya slip between the two taller teens with the utmost ease. He felt a pang of envy in his chest, that showed on his face, as he watched tomato hair pop up in front of the RaidRaptors and Samurai duelists.

Gongenzaka crossed his arms "I, the great Gongenzaka, think it would be wise to rest. Two and a half hours of continuous walking is healthy, but I do not think it is good for Yuuya's condition." Shun looked up at the taller man and gave a stiff nod.

' _Finally! My feet are killing me!_ ' Shingo exhaled a loud dramatic sigh of relief, slumping over but still standing, only to flinch back at Kurosaki's glare when the other sharply twisted back toward him. Shun turned back to face the metal two-way road.

"Okay. Sak-huh?"

 _ **Close...**_

Shingo, with his interest peaked, quietly crept up beside the Xyz remnant to see what the commotion was all about: Yuuya stood straight, ruby orbs intently staring down right hallway.

Gongenzaka, who now was on Yuuya's left, clasped a giant hand on his shoulder. "Yuuya?"

No response.

Shun waved a hand in front of the Pendulum summoner's line of vision. "Sakaki?"

Still no reaction.

"It's like he's in some sort of trance..." Shingo made a circle motion with his hand beside his head. "Maybe that duel earlier scrambled his brains?" Gongenzaka gave Sawatari a disappointed scowl. "What?"

Kurosaki, ignoring them, glanced in the direction Yuuya was. "What is he looking at?" The two Standard citizens stopped their quarreling and copied the dark-haired duelist.

The silence after was deafening, until Noboru made a cup with his hand (the one on Yuuya's shoulder) behind his ear. "Wait, do you hear that?" Shun looked at the taller man before leaning forward, turning his head so his ear faced the right corridor.

Sure enough, a small noise made itself known. It sounded like..."Footsteps?" and a lot of them too. Could Yuuya have heard it before them? But how? "They're...getting closer."

 _ **Too close. Too close. Too close...!**_

Shingo, however, failed to see (hear?) what the others were talking about, and was increasingly getting more and more frustrated. "What are you guys talking about!? I don't hear anything!" Giving up on that task, he focused his concentration on the mute entertainer:

Only to back up against the wall behind him out of pure shock and fear.

Yuuya's hair, unlike its usual limp style, had begun to defy gravity, his goggles seemingly the only thing that kept the disheveled mess from standing on end. A thin veil of misty shadow covered the duelist's body like a blanket from head to toe. But none compared to the boy's eyes. _Oh god_ his eyes. Shingo's own widened as he couldn't help but gape at them: Their natural shine had all but disappeared, leaving a bloody, soul-sucking crimson behind. They glowed a bright fiery red that threatened to scorch anything that entered into their line of sight. And his pupils. He would describe them as a cat's but they held such _hatred_ and intense _flame_ that a _dragon's_ were a better description. They weren't black but were a crisp white that only intensified their alien glow.

Shingo wasn't sure if this was even Yuuya anymore. He gulped as beads of sweat ran down the sides of his face.

He was _scared_ and he _admitted it_.

Sawatari's limbs froze as _"Yuuya"_ 's eyes flicked towards him: their icy fire chilling him to the bone. He slid to the floor in a heap of numb body parts. As he sat there, lost in a strange trance ( _Oh god he's gonna kill me_ ), he could barely hear Shun and Gongenzaka's voices as they slowly became understandable.

"Sawatari!" He suddenly snapped back to reality. He tried to focused on Kurosaki's stern scowl and the rough shaking of his shoulders. "What's wrong!?"

Shingo let go of the breath he didn't know he was holding. He brought up a shaking arm and was going to point at the _demon_ he just saw, but faltered. It was gone.

Yuuya's hair was back to normal, there was no darkness surrounding him, and his eyes had gotten back their natural shine. He was awestruck.

 _Had he imagined the whole thing?_

Shun shook him again. "Sawatari!"

 _ **Too close!**_

"Yuuya!" Shun quickly about-faced, nearly missing said duelist sprint down the left hallway. Gongenzaka stumbled slightly backward, clearly stunned by Yuuya's sudden take off. Kurosaki called out to his fleeing comrade, but was ignored. He faced the Samurai duelist, "Both of you stay here! I'm going after him!" And he did.

Noboru watched Shun speed off, before turning his attention back to Sawatari, who was still on the ground but noticeably better than his previous state. It was then that he remembered:

"Wait! There are still people coming down this hallway!" He got his duel disk ready as the footsteps became louder and louder...until three persons came around the corner.

"Akaba Reiji!"

The CEO made his way forward, with Ruri and Reira close behind, and stopped in front of the large man.

"Noboru..." he said, pushing up his glasses. Reira clutched his pant leg, panting, and the Kurosaki stood beside him, also gasping for oxygen.

Sawatari seemed to snap out of it at the sound of the Akaba's voice, swiftly standing up. Gaining back his usual sarcastic demeanor and stuffing his hands into his pockets, he came up next to Gongenzaka.

"So what took you guys so long?" he asked acting as if nothing happened. The larger man glanced at Shingo and gave him a look.

Reiji didn't answer. Sawatari made a 'tch' sound, slightly embarrassed at beeing ignored once again.

"Where's Shun?!" Gongenzaka nearly had a whiplash at how swiftly he faced the Yuzu look-a-like.

"Yuzu!" Gongenzaka exclaimed.

"No," Reiji stated. "This is Kurosaki's sister, Ruri."

"S-Sister!?" Shingo declared.

"Yes, now do you know where my brother is? I know he was here with you all!" Ruri asked the samurai duelist.

"W-well, about th-"

"Gongenzaka!"

Everyone looked down the hallway Shingo and them came out off, spotting a pair of counterparts running their way. Yuzu and Selena stopped in front of the group, clearly out of breath.

"Yuzu! Selena!" Gongenzaka picked up the pink-haired girl in a tight hug. "I, the man Gongenzaka, am happy to see you safe and sound!"

Yuzu looked quite flustered. "I-It's nice to see you too, Gongenzaka," She looked around from her position in the large man's grip. "but do you know where Yuuya is?"

Noboru, confused, placed Yuzu on the ground and answered, "Kurosaki ran after him after Yuuya suddenly took off."

"Th-that wasn't Yuuya-kun!" Everyone faced Sawatari.

"What do you mean, Shingo?" Reiji asked, voice calm and smooth.

"I only saw it for a second, but," He spread out his arms in a dramatic motion. "he looked like some kind of _demon_!"

Gongenzaka started, "Sawatari, ple-" but Yuzu stopped him.

"Explain what you saw, please!" She was extremely frantic.

"His hair was defying gravity, and he had this black, shadowy aura around him, and his eyes were glowing! The pupils were white instead of black, too!" Shingo pointed to the body parts on himself. "It was super freaky!"

Selena retorted, "That's impossibl- " She paused. "Wait, I think I have seen something similar to what you have described."

"See! I'm not crazy!"

"Now, where did I...?"

"At the tr-train station!" All eyes were on Reira, who had begun to hyperventilate. "Yuuya-niisan was d-dueling this g-guy from Ac-Academia," He clutched the older Akaba's leg tighter. "when he suddenly st-started scr-screaming!" A strange silence fell upon the group, only to be broken by the Fusion user.

"Yes, now I remember." Selena gained a slightly disturbed look on her face. "It was back in the Synchro dimension, I was still under the effects of the nerve gas given to me. Reira and the Academia traitor, Shiu'nin Sora, were trying to protect me while that Yuugo guy and some weird fusion version of Yuuya started dueling. Everything had started out okay during the duel, but when the fusion Yuuya brought out his dragon it was as Reira said: Yuuya had begun screaming, and he had gained the aspects of what Sawatari described. My bracelet had started glowing too- hold on! Is that why you were so surprised when our bracelets started glowing as well?"

Yuzu nodded, tightening her hold on the duel disk in her right hand. "I saw Yuuya that day, and he looked like he turning into a different person! I was terrified!" There was silence as Yuzu ended her thought.

Gongenzaka stared at his friend for a moment then crossed his arms, closing his eyes. "Now that I, the great Gongenzaka, reflect on Selena's description, it does describe a time when Yuuya had these features during the Miami championship. He was acting so wildly that me, that fortune-teller girl, Michio, and that rude fish man had to hold him down. He calmed down after a while and fainted. Yuuya also had no recollection of the incident later. It was indeed one of the strangest things I have ever seen!" The quietness continued. The tension, extreme.

The purple duel disk in Yuzu's hand caught Gongenzaka's attention after a short time. "Hey, whose duel disk is that?"

Yuzu shook her head. "That doesn't matter right now! Right now, I need to know where Yuuya ran off to!"

Gongenzaka nodded stiffly and pointed down the left hall. "Yuuya fled that way, with Kurosaki close behind."

"Then let's go already!" said Ruri behind the large steadfast duelist. She ran in the direction of Shun and Yuuya, leaving behind a somewhat stunned Yuzu and Selena. They had just realized Ruri was in the same room as them.

Getting over their shock fairly quickly, Selena and Yuzu nodded, following their counterpart. The others were close behind.

################################################################################

"Sakaki!"

 _ **Why are you still here...?**_

Shun called to his comrade as their footsteps echoed along the hallway they both sped down. The Kurosaki was extremely confused on why Yuuya was so much fast than he was (Shun had longer legs than the Dueltainer), but pushed it from his mind and tried to focus on his friend's position.

Though he ignored it at first, he had noticed that the boy was acting rather strange. He had hoped it was a concussion, but his gut had been telling him otherwise ever since they first found him.

" _What's the matter, Sakaki?_ "

 _ **...I know you think you're helping...**_

Shun was momentarily surprised when Yuuya suddenly cut left. He skidded a little at the turn and fell behind the duelist once more.

 _ **And that you want to protect your comrades...**_

The entertainer again switched directions: going right this time. Kurosaki was more prepared, however, and easily mimicked the follow-ee...

 _ **But...**_

...only to lose him. Shun rapidly looked side to side, panting heavily. The hall was bare. Where did he..?

 _ **I'm sorry.**_

The sound of quickly approaching footsteps caused him to turn stiff, spinning around-

When something hard slammed into his gut. "Gch-!"

" **You're in my way, Kurosaki Shun.** "

The wind knocked from his lungs, he coughed up spit, looking down at his attacker.

Gold met crimson.

The taller duelist's eyes widened as he _recognized_ his aggressor. "W-Why..," he choked out.

Said person gave a cruel grin, removing their fist from Shun's abdomen.

As Kurosaki fell to his knees, wrapping his arms around his stomach, a strange sense of deja-vu washed over him. He could not think of what had caused the feeling even as he fell forward, his arms loosening their grip from around his abdomen and body hitting the ground with thud.

Shun was barely aware as someone slipped his duel disk off his forearm. He struggled to look at the assailant, who was slowly walking away from him: an Xyz duel disk in hand.

Shun reached out an arm toward the boy, but lost the strength to keep it in the air. As his vision began going black, he called to him.

"S-Sakaki..."

At the caller's voice, the boy halted and glanced down at the dark-haired man. The assailant stared for a moment. Then, without a word, he turned back and continued to make his way forward, all while a wicked smile lay plastered on his face.

################################################################################

"Shun! Shun!" Ruri cried. She had cupped her hands around her mouth, facing left and right as she searched for her brother.

"Ruri! Please, slow down!" Yuzu and the others fell behind the Xyz counterpart, trying to catch up to her. " _She's really fast!_ "

Ruri looked behind herself and slowed to a stop next to a two-way path, turning to face her counterpart. Yuzu leaned on her knees when she finally caught up with the Kurosaki. Gasping for breath, she looked up to Ruri's gulity expression.

"I'm sorry. I just-"

"It's okay." Yuzu clapped a hand on her shoulder. "We'll find Shun and Yuuya. Just try and be a bit slower about it next time, alright?"

Ruri stared at the Hiragi briefly before giving her twin a confident nod as the others came up behind them.

"...guh..." The sudden groan from Ruri's right made both of them look toward the new sound.

"Shun!"

Shun was leaning against the corner at the end of the hallway, barely standing and right arm wrapped around his stomach. Sweat poured down his face, which was contorted in pain, as he focused on the purple-haired counterpart. "R-Ruri..? I-Is that really..." The older Kurosaki, using his remaining arm, pushed himself from the ledge which he had been gripping like a life line and reached out to his sister...

...only to falter and fall. He was just scarcely caught by the younger.

Ruri hugged her brother tightly, her eyes watering. "I'm here, Onii-san." Shun, momentarily stunned, hugged her back the best way he could, softly smiling.

Yuzu ran up behind the siblings. As she did, she noticed that Shun was Duel Disk-less.

"Kurosaki-san?" Yuzu questioned.

Shun looked up from his place in Ruri's arms. "Ah, Hiragi-san..."

Yuzu crouched down next the Xyz users. "What happened?"The older Kurosaki's expression was grave. "I-I was attacked..."

Ruri looked down at her brother. worriedly. "Who attacked you?"

Shun refused to look Yuzu in the eyes. "It-It was Yuuya..." Yuzu's eyes became the size of dinner plates.

"Yuuya would never do such a thing!"

Everyone faced the large black-haired man. "I, the great Gongenzaka, refuse to believe my friend would attack another! Your eyes must have been mistaken!"

"They were not-!" Shun flinched as he tried to stand on his own, his sister supporting him. He look down at his feet. "I'm sure of it! Their eye colors were the same!"

"You mean you actually never saw him?" Yuzu butted in.

"N-No. He came up behind me and punched me in the gut. I saw his eyes before I blacked out. He also took my duel disk." He lifted his right arm to show them. "But, we can't pursue him! He's dangerous!"

"I, the great Gongenzaka, would never abandon a friend in need!"

They continued to argue, the others staring blankly at them. Yuzu stood between them, not really wanting to be there. She wanted to believe Gongenzaka, but if Yuuya did attack him and her - their bracelets did mean that Yuuya was in trouble...

"Yuzu!"

She ran. _She had to find him! She had to!_

Yuzu ignored the bodies of beaten scientists and soldiers in her wake, evidence that _something_ had been there. She kept running, disregarding the voices of the friends she left behind. She kept going until she came across a door. A very large one at that. She beheld the enormous-ity that was the door, then, with both courage and confidence, shoved her shoulder into the door with all the strength she had.

The entryway fell open with less strength than her push, causing her to nearly lose her balance.

" **Ah, the peanut gallery has finally arrived...** "

She froze at the voice, which seemed to be made up of three others, and slowly brought up her head toward her 'friend'.

'Yuuya' sat atop a throne that was obviously too big for him. He lay sideways across it, legs crossed over the armrest. A thick veil of darkness cloaked his body, his hair was wild and sticking to invisible static. The pendulum around his neck shone brightly and continuously, illuminating his facial features. He re-positioned his arm so that it held up his head. His eyes flashed a deadly red as they stared down at her.

She could barely here the others coming up behind her as 'Yuuya' grinned.

" **Yo.** "

I did it...

I did it...

IM SO HAPPY

THIS TOOK SO LONG

OVER 3000 WORDS

YEEEEEEESSSSSS


	8. Chapter 7

Yuzu stared up at her fri- no, what _was_ her friend.

It wore Yuuya's face, body, and clothing, but everything else was...

 _Wrong_. Completely and utterly _wrong_.

The way he held himself, the sense of extreme confidence and pride that radiated off of his form, his Cheshire cat grin expressing his alien mischievousness. But his eyes held such underlying rage (unlike Yuuya's warm and loving ones), contradicting his overall outward expression.

" **I seem to have underestimated you...** "

Yuzu's eyes focused on the boy whose orotund voice was a quartet of disharmony, with Yuuya's tone the most noticeable.

" **...You all showed up earlier than I expected~!** " _Yuuya_ 's eyes scanned over the small crowd behind her, his smile faltering ever so slightly at the sight of the elder Kurosaki laying on the younger. " **But what I wasn't expecting was the appearance of your bird friend over there. I'm sure I knocked him out...** " Yuzu could not help but stare as Yuuya twisted himself on the throne until he was almost completely upside down: his legs resting on the back and his head hanging over the seat of the chair.

Gongenzaka stiffened at the entertainment duelist's comment and looked over toward Shun, who mouthed " _I told you_ " to him. Ruri, however, wasn't so silent on the matter.

"You're the one who hurt my brother?" she yelled, somewhat unnerved at the similarities between this person and them purple-haired boy who had previously brought her to this place.

 _Yuuya_ 's grin disappeared completely at the rhetorical question." **I just said that, didn't I?** "

"Yes, but-"

" **But what?** " His cat-like pupils dilated, eyes narrowing. " **Do you have anything to say on the matter?** "

Ruri opened her mouth to retort, but closed it when her brother squeezed her arm. A silencing gesture. She turned her head to look at his unnerved expression, his eyes seemed to bore into the teen on the the throne.

"Yuuya..." Yuzu took a single but courageous step toward the upside down entertainer. "Yuuya, what happened to you?!"

 _Yuuya_ gave a frustrated sigh. " **I'm not-** "

"Wait, _that's_ Yuuya?" Ruri interrupted.

"Yes. He's-"

Gongenzaka abruptly spoke up. "Yuuya would never-!"

" ** _SILENCE!_** " _Yuuya_ was standing now, having gotten up from his chair while they were bickering.

The room complied.

It was quiet for a few moments as _Yuuya_ 's inharmonic voice echoed throughout the hall. He glared at them, waiting for someone-else to speak up.

When no one did, _Yuuya_ suddenly clapped his hands together and gave joyous yet sinister grin to his audience. " **Good~! Now it's time to get down to business...** "

Everyone's expressions turned to cautious confusion.

 _Yuuya_ began to pompously and slowly make his way down the steps from the throne, causing his fingers on each hand to touch one another. " **First, to answer the question on all of your minds. Am I Sakaki Yuuya?** " _Yuuya_ made a thinking pose using his right hand. " **Yes and no. Sakaki Yuuya is me, but I am not Sakaki Yuuya. I am him, plus Yuugo, Yuuri, and Yuuto.** " At each name spoken, the corresponding voice briefly became dominant before becoming Yuuya-dominant once again.

"W-Well," Sawatari spoke up, voice slightly trembling as Not-Yuuya's eyes made contact with his own. "if you're not Yuuya, wh-who are you then?"

Not-Yuuya paused in the middle of the staircase, his eyes widening slightly at that, as if mildly both puzzled and impressed with the question. " **Hmm~ What a wonderful inquiry...** " He caught his chin using his right forefinger and thumb, closing his eyes. The tomato-haired duelist then suddenly spread his arms out wide. " **And the answer to that is-!** "

Almost immediately at his comment, Not-Yuuya crouched then jumped, front-flipping in the air, and finally landing gracefully on his feet at the bottom of the stairs, frightening the group. " **Not important!** "

Sawatari sputtered. " 'Not important'?! B-but-!"

" **My identity is of no concern to you, Sawatari Shingo.** " Said person flinched at the boy's suddenly cold demeanor. He turned to the rest of the audience. " **It will not have any influence on any of your futures, except for maybe one...** " He trailed off, glaring briefly at Yuzu, who unconsciously grasped at the bracelet beneath her jumper. Not-Yuuya then snapped back to his previous disposition.

" **Now for the second-most frequent question on your minds: Am I a threat?** " Not-Yuuya's tetra-cord voice seemed to obtain an air of humorousness at the question. " **That depends. If something is a threat then it is dangerous and should not be encountered. Well? Do you think of me as a 'threat'?** " The duelist's crimson eyes glimmered slyly as he scoured the group.

Everyone seemed taken back by the question. Was he a threat? He did attack Shun, but he was still Yuuya, their friend...

"Of course you're a threat!"

The Lancers turned to the abrupt outburst by the elder Kurosaki. "You attacked anyone in your way without a second thought! You even attacked your comrades!" Shun doubled over, being held up by his sister. He faced his previous comrade with determination. "You're not trustworthy enough to not be considered a threat!"

The group tensely forced their gaze back onto tomato-haired duelist at the foot of the stairs. He eyes were closed as he pondered on Shun's reply. After a few moments he shrugged. " **No one's disagreeing so I guess I'll-** "

It was at this point in time that two small object buzzed across the room and latched themselves onto Not-Yuuya's wrists. A small band of energy formed between them, forcing his wrists to touch. " **Oh~? This is interesting. I never realized you had the courage to even face me...** "

A bald, tanned man stepped out from the shadows of the room. Reiji and Selena stiffened as they recognized him.

" **...Professor**."


	9. Chapter 8

" **Hello again, Professor~** "

Said person made his way past the group crowded at the entrance and stopped a few feet beside Not-Yuuya. The Professor put his hands behind his back, narrowing his eyes at the Pendulum Duelist. "I don't ever remember meeting you."

Not-Yuuya shrugs. " **Yeah, well you've already met twenty-five percent of me so it counts.** "

"Father..." The Professor turns to the CEO manager.

"Reiji..."

Said person makes his way to the front of the group and gives his father a cold stare, straightening his glasses. "Would you care to explain why you sealed hundreds- if not _thousands-_ of people into cards, _father_?" Reiji practically spat the last word.

Not-Yuuya seems to perk up at Reiji's words, a smug grin crossing his face. " **Oh yes~ Explain your _perfect_ plan, Akaba Leo.** "

The Professor briefly glares at the Pendulum duelist, before sighing. "All of this was for one purpose and one purpose only...

"...to save the four dimensions from their apocalyptic fate."

Not-Yuuya says nothing, narrowing his eyes ever so slightly, as the Lancers recoil. "'Apocalyptic fate'!?"

Leo nods. "Yes. Five years ago, me and a group of scientists discovered the ruins to an ancient temple outside the boundaries of Miami City. Only the walls and entrance still stood standing: the ceiling having caved in. When we first entered, we saw that the walls were inscribed with a mysterious language that we had never seen. Along with the words were images showing two powerful beings: A man and a woman dressed in regal clothing. Intrigued, we hired professional translators to try and make sense of the language. After much time passed we were finally given the history of the two personas. They were not just powerful people that decorated the halls of the temple: They were _gods_."

Reiji looked skeptical. "Gods?"

"Not just gods, Reiji: Gods of creation and destruction. The woman was the goddess of Creation, and the man was the god of Destruction. They kept the world in order and were members of the original dimension before the dimensions were split into four."

"The original dimension?" Yuzu was confused as she felt an alien twinge of longing. She looked over at her _friend_ ; He appeared uncomfortable, shifting his feet slightly, but still stared at the Professor with the same amount of smugness as before. This just confused her more.

Leo continued. "The gods were kept there and were beloved by the people who lived nearby, especially the Creation goddess. They welcomed her powers to mend and make with open arms, but the Destruction god was exiled from this treatment. The people feared him and his powers. Any living thing the god touched with his bear hands crumbled to dust. But the works describe him as a gentle and kind man who had no reason to harm anyone. That is until they say he was fed up with it. "

Yuzu grasped the bracelet under her clothing again (now noticing that the light and noise had long since stopped) as the strange emotions that were not hers returned; Overwhelming _guilt_ threatened to consume her being as the Professor resumed:

"One day, the god approached one of the villages nearby and showed them a power they had never seen: He created monsters and servants out of thin air and performed extravagant magic shows with them. The people were astonished: 'How could the destruction god create such magnificent creatures?!' Some did not question the strangeness of the situation any farther than that. But some curious and fearful individuals ran to the creation goddess, telling her of the power the destruction god had showed them, of the pendant that gave such wonders, and asking for the reasons behind this mysterious phenomenon. But she gave no answers for she had none; she promised those few that she investigate it. The destruction god's shows continued for months, and eventually he gained the trust of almost everyone around him. Then-"

" **She ruined** ** _everything_** **...** " Yuzu and everyone behind her snapped their attention to the bound duelist, who looked ready to bite off the Professor's head more than anything. His cold demeanor had returned, but motion of his index finger scratching his other hand inside of the handcuffs told a different story...

Either he did not notice or he decided to ignore it, Leo gave the Pendulum duelist a mild glare, annoyed that he had been interrupted. "Do you have something to add to this?" The sharp turn away from him was the only answer he received.

"Anyway, the Creation Goddess returned to the village one day when the Destruction God was no where to be found. She told them that she had learned that the Destruction god had gained this new power from an unknown source and wished to see the end of all of those who had treated him wrongly. He had gained their trust and was going to kill them in an sudden act of betrayal the following morning during one of his shows. Everyone begged for there to be a way to stop this. She told them to run him out when they saw him and throw him outside of the city boundaries. She would deal with him then."

Yuzu looked over once again at Not-Yuuya: He had a faraway look in his eyes, appearing to have stopped listening long ago. "After all of this was done, the Creation Goddess cornered him and, using her bow and arrow, shot him in the heart." Not-Yuuya flinched horribly, subconsciously clutching his chest. "She had wanted to end his life, but the shot had fractured his soul instead into four parts. Without the presence of the God of Destruction, the dimension began to break apart, having lost its precious order. In order to keep balance, the Creation Goddess also split herself into four, but the damage had already been done: The original dimension had already split into four. The original was lost forever."

The Professor began to walk towards the Pendulum duelist. "All that's left of the original dimension are objects in each dimension that sit on the exact same co-ordinates as the temple in Standard."

" A card in Fusion,"

He took another step closer.

"A bow and corresponding arrows in Synchro,"

And another.

"A shield in Xyz,"

He stood right next to the smaller person, who appeared to not be paying attention. He reached for the string on the back of Not-Yuuya's neck...

"And finally, in Standard next to the temple we came across, a pendulum pendant-"

If Yuzu had blinked in that single moment when the Professor had wrapped Yuuya's Pendulum's necklace, she would have missed the sudden flash of surprise to fear that crossed Not-Yuuya's face as he realized what was going on. The hair on the back of Not-Yuuya's neck stood up, and the darkness that enveloped him flared to life without warning. The Professor, startled, pulled away as if burned by fire. The Pendulum Pioneer then jumped several feet away from the Akaba, trying to steady himself without the use of his arms. He was practically _frantic_ , eyes darting left to right, seeming to be searching for something that was not there. The fear in his eyes then vanished as quickly as it appeared and was replaced by barely restrained rage, teeth grinding out his words.

" ** _DON'T touch me._** "

Everyone was silent as the Professor slowly clasped his hands back together again behind his back. Yuzu could not help but stare at her former friend.

' _He was...scared?_ '

 _Of course he was._

' _Yeah...Wait, what?_ '

"Well?" Reiji broke the silence. " What does this story have to do with sealing people into cards and Yuuya's pendulum?"

Leo looked somewhat offended. "It's not a story, Reiji. All of this is real. As for that, the walls not only told us this, but on them was a prophecy of the revival of both gods." He sighs."Thousands of years later, the pieces of the Creation Goddess and the Destruction god reincarnated in each dimension: One piece of the Creation Goddess and one piece of the Destruction God."

Reiji's eyes widened. "You don't mean..."

"I do." Leo pointed to Yuzu. "You and your counterparts are the remaining soul fragments of the Goddess of Creation. And your friend here," He points to Not-Yuuya. "Is what happened when the four pieces of the Destruction god finally came back together." Not-Yuuya, having gained his previous composure back, merely grinned.

" **Didn't realize you were so smart, Professor. I guess should watch my back from now on~** " The Professor snorted at the duelist's sarcastic remark and continued.

"The prophecy told of the imminent revival and revenge of the Destruction God. It said that once the god was revived it would be impossible to stop him without the Creation Goddess. Having no knowledge on who the pieces of either god were, we found this information to be rather unhelpful, until we discovered there was another way - or rather there were _two_ other ways."

"Two?" Not-Yuuya narrows his eyes, but says nothing.

"The prophecy tells that the only way to defeat the God of Destruction before he revived was to 'destroy the things that defied it'."

Selena stepped up beside her Standard Counterpart. "What the heck is that supposed to mean?!"

"I was getting there." Leo cleared his throat. "We had no idea what to do with this information, but after a while of theories we came up with two as the most likely. The first was that 'the things that defied it' was every living thing, as he was the Destruction God so living creatures _defied_ his powers. The second was that it was talking about the remaining parts of the Creation Goddess, the one who killed him. We were obsessed with this information and decided it would be best to work on this information elsewhere. That was how we found ourselves in the Fusion dimension. It was then that it came to me: each dimension is its own reality. So, with the help of Academia, we attacked the first dimension we came across other than Standard: Xyz."

Shun balled his fist. "You mean to tell us that the destruction of our dimension, our _home_ , was because of _pure chance_?!"

Leo ignored the Kurosaki's outburst. "We had to card _every single person_ in Heartland, or else it would not work, which is why we sent soldiers after the Xyz remnants. It was during this that I was informed of a girl living in Heartland that looked strikingly similar to Selena. I remembered our second theory of how to stop the Destruction God's revival and ordered her to be captured and sent to Academia. Is was when I sent Yuuri to go retrieve her, that one of the Obelisks that returned from Xyz told me of a person who looked like Yuuri but used Xyz. I then realized what I had done: I started the revival of them both, not just the Creation Goddess."

At that moment, a deep throaty chuckle made itself known in the room. The Professor's eyes snapped open, flicking over to the bound, now _laughing_ , duelist. The chuckle turned slowly into hysterical laughter. Not-Yuuya had doubled over, laughing so hard he had tears leaking from his eyes. " **I-I can't,** " He hiccups. " **b-believe you-you screwed yourself over th-that much! And all because of st-stupid** ** _prophecy_** **! Who would EVER believe such** ** _liars_** **~!** "

Leo stared, incredulous. "Wha-"

Not-Yuuya's laughter calmed down to small giggles. " **Oh, the rest of what you said was true! Well, mostly. But did you** ** _really_** **think that I would be satisfied with YOU killing them? Oh no,** " He leers over at Yuzu and Selena, a wicked smile plastered on his face. " **That's** ** _my_** **job~** "

Reiji and Shun's eye widen simultaneously. They both turned to bracelet girls. "Yuzu, Selena! RUN-!"

" **TOO LATE~!** " Not-Yuuya wrenches his restraints apart with ease. Everyone, including the Professor, watch in horror as the cuffs around his wrists snap, clinking to the floor.

And with an abrupt flare of darkness, he dashes toward the pink-haired counterpart.


	10. Chapter 9

Time seemed to slow down as Not-Yuuya dashed toward her at inhuman speed.

' _I can't breathe...!_ '

He was nearly a blackish blur as he slips past the CEO, who was too stunned to move.

' _My body...I-It won't..._ '

Yuzu grasps the bracelet underneath her jumper.

' _Move! Please!_ '

She stares helplessly as he reaches for her, mad glee written all over his face.

' _N-No!_ '

Yuzu shuts her eyes close, hoping, pleading for some kind of miracle. He's so close now she feel the cold, writhing darkness emanating from his body.

' _St-_ '

 _STAY BACK!_

As the mysterious voice echoes through her skull, a pink light begins to shine from beneath her clothes, blinding all those around. She tries to squint through the piercing light as Not-Yuuya exclaims:

" **Wh-What is-** ** _GAH!_** "

Yuzu watches through partially closed eyes as Not-Yuuya is thrown back with amazing force, shooting past the Professor and hitting the staircase with a horrible _CRRACK!_

The light dies down almost immediately after the sound, and Yuzu takes out both her and Selena's bracelets, staring at them for a moment (What was that?) before she looks up and gasps: Not-Yuuya's body lay unmoving, (except for the occasional twitch of his fingers) somewhat mangled as his arms and legs were splayed across the stairs.

Everyone stared him before watching Yuzu place her free hand over her mouth in shock.

' _I-Is he..._ '

A groan answers her silent question. Yuzu is slightly relieved that Not-Yuuya was not dead, but quickly gives Selena's bracelet back her while putting her own back on just in case he tried again. The group watches tensely as the Pendulum Duelist's twitches become more frequent, his body trembling with shock. Not-Yuuya then suddenly sits up, tearing a card from his duel disk.

" _ **WHY?!**_ " He shouts at the card, practically livid. " **Why didn't you work!? You were supposed to be my chance at revenge for what she's done!** " He's shaking in fury, but the disappointment in his voice was nearly heartbreaking. " **I don't understand! I don't-!** " The card then glows an alien blue before shattering into thousands of tiny shards of the same color. Not-Yuuya stares at his empty hand as the Professor breaks the uneasy silence.

"As soon as I realized what I had done for the upbringing of your revival, I had the card relocated and a fake put in its place as a precaution."

Yuzu had to stare. " _A...fake?_ " She had no idea what the card he had was, but the foreign un-comfortableness had returned, and something told her that things were not going to end well.

Especially for the Professor.

The Professor goes straight back to his previous topic. "As for your other question, Reiji, about Yuuya's pendant..." He hums. "Let's just say that sometimes...sometimes you can't trust the people you most trust."

Reiji's eyebrows furrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Why, Reiji. You of all people must know that the Destruction God's Standard counterpart got his pendant from his father, don't you?"

"...How do you know that."

"Because, _son_ , Sakaki Yuuya's father stole the pendant from me."

Everyone in the room gasped. " _Yusho Sakaki...stealing?!_ " Yuzu looked to her friend who sat un-moving on the stairs, still completely in shock. He seemed to be thinking...

"There has to be a reason he would steal from you." Reiji's skepticism had returned.

"He was a close friend of mine once. I trusted him as dearly as one would trust themselves. But the research I have been conducting was in secret and only a few chosen scientists actually knew a lot it. But then, one day, I realized that the pendant I had found could easily be lost in my mess of a workshop, so I asked if Yusho could hold on to the pendant for save-keeping. Naturally, he had agreed and gone on his merry way, no questions. But, somehow,he found out about the project." He gave a small, humorless laugh. "He was just as skeptical as you are now, Reiji, when I told him what I had been doing. After I was done telling him, he told me to stop. He told me that it was consuming me. He pitied me. I then found myself frustrated and yelling at him that he didn't understand the problems with just dropping the project. For all we know, the legend written on the walls might be true! He left when I was done speaking. It's like he knew he could not get through to me no matter how hard he tried." Leo looked the slightest bit downcast. "Now, I wish he did..."

He cleared his throat. "Anyway, I completely forgot about the pendant entirely when me and my fellow workers moved our base of operations to the Fusion dimension. Even though I eventually remembered, I figured it would be best just to leave it there where it wouldn't be put into the wrong hands. It was when I was shown a picture of Sakaki Yuuya, wearing the pendant, the Pendulum of Ruin, that I was so, so terribly wrong." The Professor looked behind him at the still boy, curling his lips into a snarl. "He gave it to his son, who was coincidentally a piece of the God I was trying NOT to revive. Oh, how I wanted my revenge against his betrayal." But it disappeared into tense relief. "Then, surprisingly, right after relocating the card, my soldiers brought Yusho to me. He had the same look in his eyes when he scolded me all those years ago. I knew why he was here: He was here to try and reason with me. To try to get through to me. To SHOW me my mistakes. I took none of his pestering and, with a simple button, _permanently_ removed him."

Yuzu cover her mouth with her hands. " _Ojii-san..._ " She could feel the tears about to leak from her eyes. She squeezes them shut, hoping that the elder Akaba was just joking. Sakaki Yusho...couldn't be...dead...right? She reluctantly opens her eyes to see Gongenzaka's, Ruri's and even Shingo's distraught faces at the news, Serena and Shun's confused but stiff expressions, (they did not know the man, but the impact on the others clearly told him that he was someone important in Standard) But, contradicting everyone else's reactions, Reiji looked _furious_.

"Y-You...would kill your friend...just because...HE DIDN'T AGREE WITH YOU!?"

Reira hid behind his brother's leg even more. "Onii-san..."

"Don't you do the exact same thing as _Lancers_ , Reiji? Removing those in the way of your plans to move forward?"

"Yes! But we don't _kill_ them, _father_ ," He spits. "One doesn't waste a precious human life for the sake of one's own crazy ambitions!"

Leo looked about to retort when-

" **Honestly? This is boring.** "

The Professor stiffens at the quarta-cord voice from behind him. Yuzu cannot help but stare again as Not-Yuuya leans in toward the Professor. Not-Yuuya stands. (showing the crack in the _stairs_ , and not his _spine_ , from beneath him) " **You guys have been going at for like what? Half an hour? It just** -" His upper torso flops forward. "- **gets** -" It flops backward. "- **so** -" It goes back up straight, and Not-Yuuya digs his fingers into his frazzled up hair. "- **BORING.** " He removes his hands from his head, sighing. " **But you know what** ** _is_** **exciting~?** " Not Yuuya's eyes flash purple, then gray, then crystal, then finally back to red once more. " **The fact that you just gave me FIVE reasons to kill you right now. Five! What a nice number~...for me, that is.** " He chuckles darkly.

Seemingly like magic Not-Yuuya pulls out four duel monster cards from seemingly nowhere and activates his duel disk. He is muttering (" **I only have four but it'll do** ") as he scans his cards and the group. " **Hmmm...Who to choose...who to choose...** " His hums then become small hysterical giggles. " **How DELIGHTFULLY PERFECT~! To think that you all would be missing one! Oh, I know just who to choose.** "

Everyone tenses up as Not-Yuuya selects the card on his far right. He stuffs the other three back into his extra deck as the card he still holds begins to crackle and glow. The card then starts to dissolve into white sparks and smoke and two green lines with zipper teeth. The two green lines then form two circles (one on the ceiling and one on the floor) behind Not-Yuuya, and the white material moves toward the center of the invisible cylinder between the two circles. The Pendulum duelist thrusts his arm into the air, his fingers spread wide, and chants in Yuugo's voice:

" **Dragon of winds...heed my call...** "

As he says this, a strong wind picks up around him, keeping everyone from trying to stop what he was doing. The smoke and sparks suddenly begin to swirl and the rings spin at the same pace.

" **Spread those wondrous and beautiful wings...** "

Yuzu's pupils shrink in fear as she recognizes the chant. The many sparks become seven, which align vertically, and the smoke pulsates and twists and grows many times its original size.

" **And strike down our enemies at light-speed!** "

She looks to Selena who had gone pale after realizing the exact same thing. The smoke suddenly creates the base outline of a familiar dragon as the wind becomes so strong that they can barely stand on their feet. The thing's wispy tail swishes from side-to-side as its master's left eye changes to a crystalline blue.

" **Come forth! Level seven!** "

The rings slowly come to together around the twisting mass. As soon as they touch, the smoke then shoots off in all directions, dissipating the wind and rings instantaneously. The white dragon slashes the throne and staircase in two and opens its teal wings that are placed on its arms and around its waist.

" **CLEAR WING SYNCHRO DRAGON!** "

Yuzu gulps down the fear in her throat as the dragon growls at the sight of her and her counterparts. Not-Yuuya, whose left eye at not yet turned back to red, lowers his gaze onto her.

" ** _Now_** **, it's my turn to throw** ** _you_** **to the wind!** "

It roars.


	11. Chapter 10

Yuzu's throat goes dry as her and Clear Wing lock gazes.

She can practically feel the indescribable rage emanating from the white dragon as it loosely wraps its tail around its master in a protective motion. Clear Wing growls as its master chuckles in amusement:

" **Judging from your reaction, I'd say you recognize one of the pieces of my beloved partner,** " Not-Yuuya's crystalline eye glows faintly as he pets said dragon. " **And judging from his reaction, I'd also say he's** _ **more than happy**_ **to see you again as well.** "

Clear Wing's wings twitch impatiently, resetting its jaw as its master stops caressing it. " **I'd** _ **love**_ **to see your happy reunion through, but I have another thing to take care of first.** " The synchro dragon whines at its master's words; Not-Yuuya gently scratches the underside of its jaw, " **Don't worry, Clear Wing. I won't be going far, and it won't take long. Its just I promised someone I'd teach them a thing or two...** "

Not-Yuuya's dichromatic eyes swivel towards the Professor, who had long since lost his calm composure. He was practically shaking in his boots at the sight of the fourteen-year-old. (Well, body of a fourteen-year-old, mind of a vengeful destruction god)

Everyone watches as Not-Yuuya's hands linger on the dragon's jaw a little longer before moving away. As the entertainer begins to make his way toward his prey, he stops one last time to speak, not looking behind him:

" **Oh, and Clear Wing?** "

The dragon does not look at its owner either, but rather stares at the group like that of a cat: about to pounce on its prey if the occasional flick of its tail is anything to go by.

" **You may do as you please but let me handle the girls** ," His expression darkens. " **I want to do it myself.** "

Clear Wing Synchro Dragon gives a loud challenging roar, launching itself towards them.

 _ **{POV switch}**_

Reiji has barely anytime to call, "DUCK!" when the Wind Dragon flies right through their group. Everyone falls to the ground, the dragon smashing into the door behind them; it cracks but holds firm. As Clear Wing turns toward them, practically unharmed, Reiji stands, "We aren't going to be able to beat that synchro dragon alone." While Clear Wing readies for another dash, the elder Akaba activating his duel disk and summoning three D/D/D Death Great King Hell Armageddons. They move closer together, making a shield right as the white dragon shoots toward them at more than twice the power than before.

The middle D/D/D monster shatters into glittering shards, having taken the full brunt of Clear Wing's attack. It's twins that survived are blown outward like pool balls on a pool table. With the Synchro dragon momentarily disoriented, Reiji shouts, "I activate my monsters' effects! Once per turn, when a monster on my side of the field is destroyed, I can target that monster and add its attack to my monsters'!" The animation of the monsters' attacks increase briefly flickers next to the monsters before disappearing once again. Clear Wing appears unfazed as it gives a loud challenging roar at the Pendulum monsters. Reiji's eyes widen as the white dragon curls in on itself, wings glowing. The dragon suddenly releases the tension of its curl; its wings admit a blinding light that envelops the two D/D/Ds. As the light dies down Reiji's monsters are nowhere to be seen. Reiji is taken back as he realizes his mistake: In the midst of his panic, he had forgotten about Clear Wing's ability.

The synchro dragon looks down at the Akaba and snarls. Its head reels back, and it fires a beam of light from its maw right at him. Right before it hits the stunned Akaba, Reira tackles his brother to the ground. The beam creates a crater in the ground where Reiji had been standing moments earlier and follows an invisible path forward and up a pillar before dissipating.

The pillar rumbles as the upper part dislodges from the ceiling and falls to the ground in a dusty pile. Having been knocked out of his stupor, Reiji stands back up to face the floating reptile. "Get out of here, Reira!"

"B-But-!" Reira stumbles over his words, the worry in his brother's voice foreign to him.

"Do as I say!"

Reira has no time to retort as Clear Wing reels its head back once again, facing the Akaba brothers. Reiji readies to summon another monster, hoping it's strong enough to deal with the attack.

"I summon-!"

"Attack! Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir!"

A brilliant soprano note pierces the air, disrupting Clear Wing's attack and sending the dragon flying into another pillar. Clear Wing screeches as its back hits the column and the pieces of said object fall onto the downed dragon. Reiji stares unfathomably at the series of events that just happened.

"Are you guys, okay?!" Yuzu rushes to the the CEO's side.

Said person stands, helping his brother up. "Yes, Reira and I are fine," But something was bothering him. "How was Clear Wing able to destroy my first D/D/D monster? Its attack power was five hundred attack points than Clear Wing's!"

"Perhaps it was the fact that Clear Wing wasn't a monster summoned using a duel disk with solid vision." Yuzu said. The dragon moves from the pile of rubble it lays beneath, its wings shooting out like spikes. " You saw how he brought the monster to life! It's almost like it was-"

Reiji's glasses shine, masking his emotions, but his words are coated in disbelief. "Magic." Clear Wing's head breaks out from under the pillar; It faces the female monster, giving her threatening growl. Using its powerful arms and claws, Clear Wing bolts out of the rubble trap, maw wide open and ready to clamp down on its opponent.

"Everyone! Get ready!"

 _(POV switch)_

Not-Yuuya's footfalls are practically non-existent as he walks toward the chattering Professor, muffled by the loud roars of dragon calls and pillars crumbling. As the Destruction god walks, the professor cautiously readies his duel disk.

" **You know? I pity you, Professor.** " The man only gives an eyebrow raise in response.

Not-Yuuya stops and spreads his arms wide, " **Innocence is something we are all born with.** **I had it myself once upon a time.** " There's an almost forlorn look in his eyes as he says this, but the Professor doesn't appear to notice.

"You? Had innocence? That's a joke if I ever heard one." The Professor nearly scoffs.

" **Ah~, but it's true! I wasn't always this way. I was nearly human, in fact. But that's the problem with humans. They're never quite… satisfied. Their little minds always searching for what they believe to be the "truth", and the unknown is uncomfortable for them; makes them want to crawl out of their skin. So they scratch at something, picking at it and digging until they're left with a painful, bleeding welt. Until they've only themselves to blame.** _ **That's**_ **when they get angry.** "

"What are you talking about?"

Not-Yuuya waves him off and almost cheerily says, " **Nothing of importance. I'm just saying that the people who write history are the winners,** " His tone turns darker than before. " **But sometimes the winners are** _ **liars**_ **.** "

The Professor stares, trying to figure out his words. "There you go again. Your talk of liars makes no sense to me!

" **Of course it doesn't make sense to you! You and your tiny human mind…."** Not-Yuuya shakes his head and takes a step forward. " **But that doesn't matter now. What matters is how you are going to convince me why I shouldn't kill you….** " As his expression darkens, so does the air around him. A darkness begins to envelop the boy, its tendrils wrapping around his wrists and ankles, which twitch as he readies to do… something.

But The Professor wasn't going to let him. His eyes widen; activates his duel disk and summons, "Come forth! _Spirit Tech Force - Pendulum Governor!_ " The creature… thing is huge. Its blue mechanical body is the shape of an ice cream cone which is lined with ten wire-like appendages (five on each side). At the top is a silver human-esque object. It has glowing yellow wings that spread out from the "man" at the top, and the entire body is enclosed by metallic drones in the same shape as the main body.

The sight of the monster causes Not-Yuuya to step backward and look up: First shock crosses the Destruction god's face, his dichromatic eyes studying the creature with incredulity. Then Not-Yuuya looks down, his hair covering his eyes. His body shakes as he clutches the pendulum around his neck, the spikes around the top digging into his palm. " **That's… mine…** " Not-Yuuya's voice teeters on the edge of complete panic and unrestrained rage.

The Professor makes the mistake of letting his guard down for that very moment at the unusual reaction to his monster. "What?"

The man isn't ready when Not-Yuuya darts toward him too quickly for his monster to react and protect its master. The boy front flips into the air after dodging past _Pendulum Governor_ …

… the Professor raises his left arm to protect himself, his duel disk in the way the attack…

The duel disk's screen shatters as Not-Yuuya's heel comes in contact with it at full force. Time seems to slow down as the glittering needles of glass fly into the air between the God of Destruction and the surprised ruler of the Fusion Dimension. The Professor's monster flickers out of existence, as well as his card placement on his duel disk as it shuts down completely. But during all of this he can't tear himself away: the boy's blazing and freezing dichromatic eyes that are trying to burrow into his soul and tear it apart are locked onto his.

" _ **THE PENDULUM MAGIC IS MINE!**_ " Even as Not-Yuuya yells the words with such ferocity that even the monsters and humans at the other side of the battlefield have to stop and listen to the boy's outcry, he can't pull himself away from the Black Hole of darkness and wrath that was Not-Yuuya's gaze.

Time returns to normal speed as the Professor's duel disk crackles and explodes from the power of the hit, knocking him to the ground. " **PENDULUM IS MINE AND MINE ALONE!** " He's sure he hears the low whimper of a dragon to his left, but he's too disoriented. Not-Yuuya takes a step.

" **I don't know what argument you're trying to make with me, but nothing,** _ **nothing**_ **will save you now."** The Professor hesitates to look into the god's eyes. He can feel the fire of his rage and his freezing dark aura without even looking at him. The malicious cheerfulness is completely gone now; all that's left is a cold unforgiving tone, and the eyes of a killer, _a murderer_. " **No matter how much you scream, no matter how much you** _ **beg,**_ **I will** _ **enjoy killing you**_ **. You took what is mine and now, I'll take what's your's,** " Not-Yuuya raises his left arm, the blade on his duel disk activating. " _ **Your soul**_."

Not-Yuuya is about to bring down the blade, ready to kill, ready to _slaughter_ , when a large white object flies past his line of sight. It screeches in pain as it hits the metal wall and slumps to the ground. The god, briefly forgetting his murderous quest, shifts his gaze to his injured draconic friend. Not-Yuuya's aura disappears completely as his look switches from angry to one of genuine concern. "CLEAR WING!"

The Professor, getting back his bearings and seeing an opportunity, immediately stands back up. He takes the distracted boy by surprise, and pulls his right arm back to give a solid right hook to face of his attacker.

Not-Yuuya falls to his knees as the Professor comes up behind him, cradling his left forearm. The boy gently touches his right, bruised check. He brings his hand back in front of his face and closes it. Not-Yuuya trembles as a sinister smile creeps onto his face. "One...O **ne moment of** _ **weakness…**_ " The Destruction god's aura returns full force, crackling with new anticipation. Not-Yuuya's smile turns into a grinding frown. "... _ **and**_ …" The Professor steps backward as the boy slowly turns toward him; The god's pupils became slits as they locked onto their target. His hand shoots toward the Akaba,

" _ **I TOLD YOU NOT TO TOUCH ME!**_ "

Hands of writhing darkness travel up Not-Yuuya's arm and shove the Professor into an opposing pillar, pinning him a couple feet off the ground. The boy glances quickly over to his fallen comrade, who had already begun shaking himself off and flying back towards the rest to keep them away from its master. Not-Yuuya is standing in front of the Professor as he apologizes. " **Sorry about that. I seemed have gotten carried away. Today's been a long day, you know?** " The Professor merely glares at his captor, faintly struggling against his invisible bonds. " **But, that won't happen again. Now, where was I?~ Oh! Yes!** _ **I was about to tear your body and mind into a thousand tiny pieces.**_ "

Not-Yuuya raises his left arm once more, the blade glowing dimly. The Professor tenses as the Destruction god takes a step forward…

… Only for the blade to vanish.

Not-Yuuya huffs. " **This is getting annoying,** " He begins to fiddle with the device attached to his arm. " **Does it need new batteries are somethin- Eh?** " Suddenly, the screen turns on, and words begin to flash at him:

'CODE - 000 ACTIVATED'

Not-Yuuya scratches his head, "' **Code - 000'?** ". Then, the single strap connecting his arm and the device becomes three, latching tightly onto his forearm. " **Wha-?** " The duel disk starts to speak:

"EMERGENCY 'RETURN HOME' PROGRAM: INITIATED"

Panic takes over the boy's body as he turns to glare at the CEO, who is holding his glasses and smirking victoriously. " _ **You….**_ " Not-Yuuya growls out, but it's too late. The Professor is released from his hold and falls to the ground as the Duel disk begins to count down.

"FIVE…"

Not-Yuuya claws at the device on his arm, but to no avail. He's muttering to himself, " **No no no no no no….** "

"FOUR…"

" _ **... no no no no no no nonononononono**_ … _._ " He curses loudly to himself as he tries to break off the disk by slamming it into the ground. " _ **Dammit! What are these things made out of!?**_ "

"THREE…"

Clear Wing cries out to its master, struggling against the mounds of other monsters keeping it right where it is. It screams, it cries, it screeches, it claws, it bites, anything, _anything_ , to help its poor master...

"TWO…"

" **Stop it, stop it, stop it,** _ **stop it!**_ " Not-Yuuya is smashing his fist into the device now, but it won't stop, it can't stop. ' _ **I don't want to go back, I don't want to go back, I don't want to go back…**_ '

"ONE…"

"I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK!" But his screams are futile as a blue light envelops the Destruction god. And when it dies down, he's nowhere to be found. The only evidence him having been there are the echoes of his last cries.

There was a tough silence as everyone stares at where the enemy once was, an uneasy silence. Clear Wing is the first to break it as the dragon manages to get its maw around the small head of Superheavy Samurai, tearing it clean off and defeating the solid vision monster. The rest of the creatures are thrown off by its powerful arms and whip-like tail.

It roars in a worrying tone, flying over where its master had been before. Searching, searching….

But it finds nothing but the barren ground and a beaten old man.

It gives a loud cry in sorrow for the loss of its master, but its duties are not done yet. It turns toward Reiji, the man who had sent its master away, separated it from its master…. It roars, darting towards the enemy.

"Reiji!"

"Onii-san!"

"Akaba!"

Reiji can't will himself to move as the winged dragon comes straight for him. It's too close now, he can see his own reflection in its bright, revengeful, yellow eyes…

A blinding green light emanates from behind the large door, drowning the room's occupants in its lethal brilliance. By the time it dies down, Clear Wing has disappeared and Reiji still stands where he was. Before anyone has time to ask anything, the door creaks open, and a familiar blue pineapple head pops in.

"Hi guys! Oh… what happened?"


End file.
